As Langston Hughes, the influential Harlem Renaissance poet, playwright and social activist, once wrote: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?”
This poignant question is echoed in the title of the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s recently released Dreams Delayed report, which shines a spotlight on how systemic racism has continued to derail the educational aspirations of Black students across Ontario.
Laying out a clear and urgent roadmap, Dreams Delayed: Addressing Systemic Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Ontario’s Public Education System captures both institutional responsibilities — for example, what the provincial government, school boards, faculties of education and educators must do — and the long-standing demands of Black families, students and communities who have been calling for meaningful change for decades.
Call for important benchmarks
The report’s title reflects a painful truth: the dreams of Black students have too often been deferred by persistent barriers in classrooms, hallways and boardrooms.
For generations, Black families, students and community advocates have chronicled these injustices. By weaving their testimonies with data and legal analysis (including 83 reports), Dreams Delayed brings their struggle into sharp focus and translates it into a concrete policy blueprint.
Its benchmarks are for measurable improvement in graduation rates, fewer suspensions, an elimination of biased academic streaming and an increase in Black teacher representation within four years.
I am a doctoral researcher specializing in the kindergarten to Grade 12 experiences of Black students and their families. I also serve as senior research co-ordinator at the the Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement (CEBSA) with the Toronto District School Board.
I’ve seen the very principles this report highlights in action at CEBSA. By grounding our work in evidence and partnering closely with students, families and communities, sustained effort can transform long‑deferred dreams into meaningful, lasting change. In this process, students’ voices and agency must be at the heart of every decision.
Turning commitments into action
Over multiple generations, parents and activists have pushed schools to treat Black students fairly.
In 1992, provincial adviser and former politician Stephen Lewis reported that Black students felt unwelcome and overlooked in their schools. Unfortunately, many of the same issues kept appearing in study after study over the next 30 years.
Researchers found that Black students were often treated differently by teachers and administrators, leading to feelings of not belonging at school. They noted a lack of Black teachers and lessons that did not include Black history or contributions, which made it hard for Black youth to see themselves reflected in their education.
Read more: Black History: How racism in Ontario schools today is connected to a history of segregation
Black students and their families have consistently described varied unfair treatment. Discipline is one major example. For a long time, Black children have been punished more harshly at school. One Toronto study found that between 2006 and 2011, 42 per cent of Black high school students were suspended at least once, compared to 18 per cent of white students. This huge disparity showed that Black youth were far more likely to be removed from class for what educators judged as misbehaviour.
Anti-Black racism, alienation in schools
In daily school life, many Black students across Ontario have faced anti-Black racism and bias.
They’ve endured racial slurs like the “n-word” from peers (and occasionally staff), and too often these incidents were not taken seriously by schools. Being one of the few Black students in a classroom, or studying a curriculum focused almost entirely on European or white perspectives, can make school feel alienating.
Read more: Anti-Black racism is not a 'consensual schoolyard fight'
These conditions — disproportionate suspensions, low expectations, not enough Black representation among staff and repeated racist incidents — have undermined Black students’ well‑being and achievement for years. Awareness of these systemic problems is growing.
Despite the slow pace of change, community advocacy has led to important victories. In 2017, the Toronto District School Board ended the School Resource Officer (SRO) program.
This decision came after Black students, families and advocacy groups like Black Lives Matter, Education Not Incarceration and Policing-Free Schools voiced concerns about the program’s harmful and criminalizing impact on Black and racialized youth.
This decision underscored the power of organized resistance and the importance of listening to students’ lived experiences.
However, to address anti-Black racism in schools meaningfully, we need sustained action, transparent accountability and continued school, family and community involvement. Every day, Black students should learn in an environment where they are safe, respected and empowered to succeed.
Recommendations for systemic change
Dreams Delayed outlines specific recommendations across three main areas: accountability, data monitoring and student well-being.
Accountability and transparency: Under accountability, the report emphasizes openly recognizing anti-Black racism. It recommends creating human rights offices in school boards to handle discrimination complaints effectively. Schools and teachers’ unions must hire more Black educators and address workplace racism to create representative and supportive environments. The Ministry of Education must establish clear anti-racism frameworks and hold schools accountable for human rights standards.
Monitoring and evaluation: Monitoring data is crucial because we can’t fix what isn’t measured. The OHRC recommends standardized data collection across all school boards, tracking suspensions, academic outcomes and incidents of discrimination. Publicly available data allows communities to hold schools accountable and track progress transparently. An innovative recommendation is implementing early intervention systems to identify and address patterns of racial harassment proactively.
Student well-being is central. Ultimately, the goal is for Black students to feel fully supported and able to succeed. The Dreams Delayed plan calls for expanding initiatives that directly support Black youth, including the graduation coach for Black Students. This program places dedicated coaches (often Black mentors) in schools to help Black students with academics and career planning, and has shown promise in improving graduation rates.
Another recommendation is to grow student and family advocate programs so that more Black families have access to advocacy when dealing with schools, and creating affirming education spaces for Black students. Such spaces and important resources are offered through CEBSA, such as programs to connect Black students with STEM opportunties and post-secondary pathway planning.
Turning advocacy into action
By acting on the report’s key recommendations — building accountability, collecting race‑based data, transforming curriculum and expanding student supports — those long‑deferred dreams can finally begin to materialize.
Meaningful progress, however, will demand collective resolve and sustained action. Educators, policymakers and communities must move beyond acknowledging the problem and dedicate themselves to reshaping the system so every Black student is seen, heard, valued and afforded an equal chance to succeed.
The next few years will be critical. The measure of success will be simple: when Black students across Ontario no longer have to fight for the basics — dignity, safety, respect — but can focus fully on learning, growing and pursuing their futures with confidence.
Dreams Delayed offers a pivotal opportunity to transform Ontario’s schools into spaces of belonging and possibility.
Embracing its recommendations with urgency and sincerity would honour generations of advocacy and finally create an education system where every student, especially every Black student, is empowered to thrive.
Tanitiã Munroe is a Senior Research Coordinator at the Toronto District School Board.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
